My GP has told me that 80% of their appointments don't need a GP appointment.

[Hiptothisjive]

So I get that there are always people that need reassurance but this number shocked me. Basically a lot of people are visiting their GP for reasons they don't need to and taking up a lot of GP time.

It's great some of the prescriptions that can be given via a pharmacy now, but surely there needs to be a re-addressing of when to visit a doctor?

YABU - to expect people to know better than go to their GP when they don't need to
YANBU - people should go to the doctor whenever they want to no matter what the issue

It is not the funding that is the problem, it is the inefficiency and waste. Doctors are as responsible for that as anyone - be it the design at the start that was needed to bring private consultants and GPs on board, the empire building, the BMA, the recruitment of foreign doctors over British trained ones, the idea that doctors make the best managers…. And with GPs the conflict of interest between their privately run GP practice and the needs of the NHS.

DS had a bout of croup when he was about 2. He was running around still but wheezing and struggling to breathe a bit. We booked him into the GP. Didn't think it was that serious.

Reception took one look at him and called an ambulance. He then proceeded to still run around the cot in hospital he had despite them giving him steroids and the fact he was still struggling to breathe.

We were told any issue with a child of that age struggling to breathe it's direct to a&e. The fact he's a monster and was still literally running around completely fooled us. Paramedics said better to be over cautious with children of that age than not.

My mum has this problem too with the extra bonus that the attached pharmacy takes 14 days to fulfil a prescription! So she needs to put in a prescription almost as soon as she collects one to avoid running out. A couple of times now she'd had to borrow from a friend who has the same medication but gets her prescriptions within 3 days.

I know they want to avoid waste but it makes no sense for lifelong conditions and where they are too inefficient to fulfil the prescriptions quickly.

(I have suggested to my mum several times that she gets her prescriptions elsewhere but she likes this one as it has easy parking).

My mum had a nasty chest infection. She was told that it was viral by the gp. She ended up in hospital a few days later. I badly injured my knee a few years ago. It kept giving way when i tried to walk. I was told that i have anxiety by my physio. I am still having problems with my knee. I have given up getting the help i need as i am sick of been told that it is down to anxiety.

Self referrals to whom, specialists? Can you imagine, everyone with an upset stomach would present in the gastro waiting area. We'd have the A&E crowds in every single outpatient department all claiming they might have sepsis.

No, for things like foot problems; or blocked ears. That you still have to go through the GP for. Can self-refer for physio no bother, I don’t see why you can’t self-refer or minor problems without having see or speak to a GP first.

I can also see this happening in the UK, but for some reason it works well overseas. I lived in a country where everyone self-referred and you saw a so-called family doctor for the more pedestrian stuff like gastro, contraception, etc. NHS-type waits were unheard of. I need annual colonoscopy, hysteroscopy and scan, which I just organised myself rather than waiting around for the GP (and eventually having to remind them anyway) - always prompt and efficient.

The consultant waiting times don’t help either
I can’t even count how many times I was at the GP or a&e for pain relief in the 2 year wait period. I also had an ambulance twice as was unable to get off the floor due to the pain. They gave me gas and air to be able to get me in

when they operated they found the endometriosis was so severe that my bowel had folded in half

To be fair, I just needed a cardiology scan appointment as I should have a check up every two years and nothing was forthcoming so I just rang cardiology at the hospital and sorted it myself. Not sure if I was meant to do that or not, I think it was meant to come via GP, but it was very quick and I was in within a few weeks.

This ⬆️

I have tried going to the pharmacist for various ailments for myself and my kids and, every time, the pharmacist couldn't prescribe anything or offer advice, they said that I needed to see a GP.

My GPs do actually have an AI triage system , not to diagnose but to tell you if you need to see a Dr or if it’s urgent or not. It’s utterly shit. And I’m quite scared someone is going to die because of it. The questions are so narrow that only the very smallest and most serious number of things will allow you to see a Dr within a couple of days. Otherwise for everything else it’s a 3 week wait. You can’t request a female GP which I think is awful so you turn up not knowing who you’re going into see. I really hope other surgeries don’t go down this route.

My clinics are full for a month. If I’m sat on the phone who would see my patients?
Practice nurse.

I'm sorry but the idea that going private frees up an NHS GPs time for others who can't afford private care is just wrong. We still have the same number of doctors, let's imagine everyone in the UK used private GPs instead, there would be exactly the same pressure to get an appointment as you do now with the NHS. If anything people going private makes things worse for those who can't afford to because their GP is now off seeing private patients so has less time for their NHS patients.
This isn't a criticism of you btw, I'm just challenging the idea that you going private free up NHS appointments for others.

Eating disorders do not fall alongside grief and loneliness. They require specialist treatment, sometimes as in patients and can be fatal.

There seems to be a common theme on this thread of posters suggesting conditions they consider ‘minor’ but simply show their lack of knowledge about serious conditions and how they can present. This shows exactly why people need to see GPs.

No they are not! They don’t know what questions they need to ask!

Maybe ask mumsnet to not encourage it with their advertising

I really dislike these types of comments from doctors. People visit the doctor because they need medical advice. While it may be that the issue would have resolved itself, the general public isn’t trained to identify that. And often mild symptoms could lead to something very serious!!

They know enough to ask if it's a regular appointment (ie for blood tests) or for a child's vaccination or a midwife booking in appointment.

Pharmacists are not medically trained.

Not trained as doctors but trained as a medical professional.

Absolutely all of this.

Plus antibiotics really adversely affect immunity, so every time these people take them they become more prone to another infection.

I literally write scientific articles about what used to be termed "inappropriate presentations."

I don't recognise these numbers. A&E, the estimates are about 40% are inappropriate (Ismali? 2014? off top of my head) and most of those presenters are suitable for primary care, so not completely without medical need.

In primary care (GPs, ANPs)... I've never heard a GP say something like "shouldn't be here." Sometimes frustrated they can't improve situation for the frequent attenders, and recognising that person's anxiety is their health problem.

GP surgery as gateway to secondary care is supposed to give you balance between specialist who only understands one part of your health and generalist who is trying to see combined picture, and could provide continuity of care.

I got one of mine updated to 56 days, because I was going to be away. I had expected it to be a one-off, but they've never reduced it, and it's not something I'm going to point out.

(Which reminds me, they texted me earlier to say next prescription is ready. It will still be there tomorrow.)

Most of my appointments are usually with the nurse - I've got bloods, flu jab and a smear coming up over the next fortnight. I did suggest they could be combined, but no.

I've also had a referral direct to gynae with just a phone call - they didn't need to see me in person for that. But I did need some contact, just not in person.

When my husband phoned our old surgery and was triaged by the receptionist he was told he didn't need an urgent appointment and could wait two weeks to be seen. He called because he was bright yellow and his eyes were the colour of the Gruffalo's, he was excessively tired and had lost three stone in weight in a very short space of time.

I have zero bloody faith in being triaged by someone with no medical training.

Of course we know what initial questions to ask. We don't give medical advice we ask enough questions to get patients to the most appropriate care.

Receptionist "how may I help you today?"
Patient "I'd like to see the Doctor"
R - "could you give me a brief idea of what the problem is please?"
P - "I think I've got a UTI"
R " Burning on urination? frequency? Any pain? "
P - "yes and I have a dragging feeling when I go"
R - "You'll have a phone call in the first instance, let me check we've got your correct telephone number. "

2nd call
P "I've got a problem with my eyes"
R - "Any discharge?"
P " Yes they are sticky"
R "Have you been to the pharmacy?"
P " No"
R - "If you contact them first they might be able to help or they could advise you to contact an optician".

if someone had back pain I wouldn't ask if they have pins and needles, urinary incontinence, any sensation of wanting to go to the toilet because it's those type of questions that only the GP needs to ask for that scenario. Asking if patients have phlegm with a cough, sore throat, runny nose or how long they've had diarrhoea for are normal questions anyone can ask.